{"id":89,"date":"2014-02-19T06:06:37","date_gmt":"2014-02-18T21:36:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/exitinternational.net\/?page_id=89"},"modified":"2022-03-06T18:44:05","modified_gmt":"2022-03-06T10:14:05","slug":"dr-philip-nitschke","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.euthanasia.net\/exit\/about-exit\/dr-philip-nitschke\/","title":{"rendered":"Philip Nitschke"},"content":{"rendered":"

Philip Nitschke<\/h2>\n

Philip Nitschke PhD, MBBS, BSc (Hons) is the Founder of Exit International and co-author of the Peaceful Pill eHandbook<\/strong><\/em><\/a>. He lives on a houseboat (woonboot) outside of Amsterdam in the Netherlands.<\/p>\n

In 1996, Philip became the first doctor in the world to administer a legal, lethal voluntary injection under the short-lived Rights of the Terminally Ill Act 1995<\/em> (NT)<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Four of Philip Nitschke’s terminally ill patients used this law to end their suffering before the law was overturned in March 1997 by the Australian Parliament.<\/p>\n

The overturning was possible because of a loophole in the Australian Constitution which allows the Federal Government to make laws for the country’s Territories (s 122).<\/p>\n

The Euthanasia Laws Act<\/strong><\/a><\/em> (known as ‘the Kevin Andrews<\/a> Bill’) made it illegal for the Northern Territory Government to make laws on Euthanasia.<\/p>\n

With the world’s first law now gone, Philip was still approached by elderly and seriously ill people wanting help to die.<\/p>\n

In response to this need, Philip Nitschke founded the Voluntary Euthanasia Research Foundation (now called Exit International) in early 1997.<\/p>\n

\"Philip<\/a><\/p>\n

Early Life<\/h3>\n

Born in 1947 in rural South Australia, Philip studied physics at the University of Adelaide, completing a PhD at Flinders University in laser physics in 1972.<\/p>\n

Instead of a career in the sciences, Philip went north to the Northern Territory to work with the Aboriginal land rights activist, Vincent Lingiari<\/a> and the Gurindji people at Wave Hill during the time of the walk-off.<\/p>\n

After the hand-back of land by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, Philip became \u0003a NT Parks & Wildlife ranger. A serious accident to his foot saw Philip return to university, graduating from Sydney University Medical School in 1988.<\/p>\n

Philip’s autobiography Damned If I Do<\/em><\/a> (with Peter Corris) was published by Melbourne University Press in 2013.<\/p>\n

Philip Nitschke appeared on BBC’s Hard Talk<\/a> 2015 discussing why Suicide should be a Human Right. View HERE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Back Story<\/h3>\n

In July 2014 The Australian Medical Board suspended Philip Nitschke’s medical registration following sensational media coverage of the death of 45-year-old Nigel Brayley in Perth West Australia.<\/p>\n

On 7 July 2015, the Supreme Court (NT) found the Board’s decision to be unlawful and immediately restored Dr Nitschke’s right to be registered as a medical practitioner in Australia.<\/p>\n

Humiliated by their legal loss, the Medical Board then attached a list of over 30 conditions to Dr Nitschke’s medical registration, including removing his name as co-author of the Peaceful Pill eHandbook,<\/em><\/a> resigning from his work at Exit International and agreeing never to speak on Voluntary Euthanasia in public, anywhere in the world.<\/p>\n

These extraordinary conditions left Philip with the choice of remaining a registered medical doctor, despite not practising medicine for years, or ceasing his life’s work at Exit International.<\/p>\n

In consulting the membership of Exit, overwhelming support was shown for Philip continuing his work at Exit.<\/p>\n

On 27 November 2015, Dr Nitschke formally burned his medical registration certificate in Darwin, ending a 25 year career in medicine.<\/p>\n

Philip left Australia for a new life in Europe in January 2016.<\/p>\n

\"Phlilip<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Philip<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n